A HistoryJanuary - June 2013

- THE REAL MACBETH,comparing the man with the myth.

- THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH John Anderson, the Aberdeenshire magician who inspired Houdini.

Memories of the Beach Ballroom is a collection of stories from times gone by told by people who used to socialise there. The Beach Ballroom has been a special venue which has been

foremost in the hearts of Aberdonians since it first opened it’s doors in 1929.

Available to buy now from the Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen Art Gallery and

Aberdeen Maritime Museum. Visit beachballroom.com for further details.

beachballroom.com

Bloody MurderWho the real Macbeth was and why he was executed in Lumphanan.

“Macbeth’s death at the hands of Mal-colm III in Lumphanan is not widely known about, even by people living in the Aberdeenshire area”

est known as the tragic mur-derer and betrayer in Shake-speare’s Scottish Play, the real Macbeth was actually a respected and long-running King of Scotland. Born in around 1005, to the Mormaer

of Moray, Mac Bethad mac Findlaich (translated as Macbeth in English) bears very little resemblance to his Shakespearian counterpart. Macbeth’s death at the hands of Malcolm III in Lumphanan is not widely known about, even by people living in the Aberdeenshire area – it seems that the glamorous and tragic figure made famous by Shakespeare’s writing, has overshadowed the true figure behind it all. Macbeth killed the ruling King of Scotland at the time, Duncan I in a battle near Elgin, Morayshire in August 1040. He was married to the granddaugh-

ter of Kenneth III, Gruoch, which strengthened his claim to the throne and allowed him to succeed Duncan. He had a stepson, Lulach, who briefly succeeded him as King after his death. Macbeth’s mother may have been Malcolm II daughter Donada, whose sister had married Duncan I, who Macbeth later killed. This would make Duncan and

Macbeth first cousins. Macbeth later went on to kill Duncan’s father, Crinan, in a battle near Dunkeld. After Duncan’s defeat, Macbeth travelled to Scone (the Capital City of Scotland at the time) and an-

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Who the real Macbeth was and why he was executed in Lumphanan.

nounced his intentions to succeed Dun-can as King. This was apparently met with little to no resistance, most likely because Macbeth probably had as much claim to the throne as Duncan did, as the two were of the same bloodline. In the famous play, Macbeth’s reign is short lived as he succumbs to madness brought on by guilt of the murders he has committed. His downfall and untimely death comes about soon after. In reality, he is said to have ruled for around sev-enteen years, imposing Law and Order on the Scottish people and encouraging Christianity. It is believed that he went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1050, where he gave money to the poor “as if it were seeds”.

Later Kings would have been unlikely to attempt this due to the likelihood that someone would take over the throne in their absence. Macbeth appears to have ruled peacefully during his time as King, although he still had to fend of invaders from England and Scots from the South who had aligned themselves with the English. Macbeth was finally killed in 1057 by Duncan’s son Malcolm Canmore, who had for several years been invading Scotland in an attempt to reclaim the throne from Macbeth, with the help of Siward, the Earl of Northumbria.

Macbeth’s army had been defeated at Dunsinane by Malcolm and Siward’s English army in 1054. How-ever, the invaders had been sufficiently weakened that they were unable to overthrow Macbeth and retreated South. A series of further attempts were made over the next three years, before Malcolm fi-nally defeated Macbeth in the Battle of Lumphanan. Macbeth and his army were ambushed and Macbeth was finally beheaded. The site where Macbeth was defeated and beheaded

at Lumphanan can still be visited today; the stone on which he was beheaded has not been moved, situated only 300m away from the “Peel of Lumphanan”, a defensive mound dating back to the years after 1230. It is believed that Macbeth’s remains were temporarily buried a couple of miles away in a circle of trees known as “Macbeth’s Cairn” until they were discovered in 1855. While a popular and powerful piece of fiction, Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is histor-ically inaccurate in many ways. Duncan’s death took place on the battlefield near Elgin, which was at the time how most King’s came to rule, and Macbeth is unlike-ly to have been particularly bothered by it. The cold, calculated murder of Duncan as he slept in his bed, as portrayed in the play, however, eventually drives Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth insane.

The meetings between Macbeth and the three supernatural sisters’ who predict his future have actually been recorded in Scottish History. The three sisters are believed to be “Norns” or “Fates” featured in Norse mythology with the ability to tell the future. The real Macbeth, however, is unlikely to have met them. It is believed that this was thought up by Malcolm III who defeated Macbeth and suc-ceeded him to the throne, as a way of blackening his name.

Earlier this year, Scottish MP Alex Johnstone raised a motion in Parliament attempting to raise aware-ness about the true character of Macbeth, and the important place he holds within Scottish History. The campaign was brought about after the remains

of Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester, and it is hoped that it will attract tourists to areas associate with the famous monarch, such as Glamis in Angus or Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire.

Despite these attempts to sully his character, it seems that Macbeth was a brave leader, who ruled without trouble for seventeen years. His literary counterpart is interesting, and is well known by many around the world. However, the real Macbeth was a historically important figure, who deserved to be recognised in his own right, for his many tri-umphs whilst in power. One way of recognising and remembering the real Macbeth is to visit the site of the stone in Lumphanan, a peaceful spot, where the fate of the King can be pondered over a short stroll.

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It is believed that he went on a pil-grimage to Rome in 1050, where he gave money to the poor “as if it were seeds”.

Industrious Aberdeen: A Glimpse of Local Businesses; Old and New

berdeen is a truly diverse city. A home to numerous different cultures and traditions, it has been a major hub throughout history. Tradi-tionally, the city has been majorly involved in the fishing, textile, ship building and paper making industries. In the late 19th century Aber-deen was Britain’s centre for envelope production. Aberdeen is even home to an ancient society of craftsmen called the Seven Incorporated

Trades of Aberdeen. These were: hammermen, bakers, wrights and coopers, tailors, shoemak-ers, weavers and fleshers.

Today, industry and trade in Aberdeen is very different. The city has all but abandoned many of the ancient industries and has embraced a new modern era. Nowadays, many people instantly associate Aberdeen with the oil industry; Aberdeen is Europe’s oil capital, mainly due to the city’s access to the North Sea. The oil industry has been extremely important to the Aberdonian economy however, there are many other businesses throughout city which continue to be an important cog in the city’s engine.

Royal Aberdeen Golf CourseFounded in 1780, the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is the sixth oldest course in the world. For the club’s first thirty five years of existence it was known as The Society of Golfers. At this mem-bership was decided by ballot. The club re-ceived its “Royal” title in August 1903 and was awarded by King Edward VII.

Originally the game was played on a strip of land between the Rivers Don and Dee but in the second half of the 19th century it moved to Balgownie on the northern side of the River Don. It is still regarded as one of the best cham-pionship courses.

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Industrious Aberdeen: A Glimpse of Local Businesses; Old and New

Jamieson & Carry

“Established in 1733, Jamieson & Carry is the oldest jewellers in the city. The family-run business prides itself in a unique customer experience with family-based values at the heart of business. It is the only store throughout the city to be an agent for the prestigious and exclusive watchmaker Rolex. It is also the city’s sole agent for Patek Philippe; a watchmaker so dedicated to perfection, they created their own “Patek Philippe” seal of approval.

The business recently took part in an exhibition in Aberdeen Art Gallery where they showcased silverware from their shop. The silver pieces dated from the eighteenth century to the present. This exhibition also included a collection created by Peter and Michael Carry. This collection celebrated 100 years of the Carry Family in the business.

The store not only offers exclusive Swiss watch brands but boasts two large floors of carefully chosen, lux-ury items sourced from around the worldThe business has moved to many different premises around the city but has been settled in their Union Street branch since 1925. Its pristine reputation around the city has made it a constant feature of the Ab-erdonian jewellery industry.”

Captain Tom’s Recording Studio & Fat Hippy Records

“Captain Tom’s is a recording and rehearsal studio in Aberdeen boasting four acousti-cally treated and sound proofed rehearsal rooms and Logic 8 multi-track studio. Many local musicians use the studio and over the years it has hosted many talented bands. The studio has become a well-loved hub of the dynamic local music scene. It is also the home of Fat Hippy Records, an Aberdeen based record label.

Owner of the label, Tom Simmonds, nicknamed Captain Tom, said the label “was born of a frustration at the lack of support for the wealth of musical talent we found coming through our door every week”. The Captain took out a one thousand pound overdraft in October 2002 and embarked on a vague plan to help raise the profile of the North East music scene. The label so far has released over sixty CDs, worked with over seventy artists and have sold CD’s to new music lovers all over the world from Montrose to Japan! They have released a few Fat Hippy sampler CDs which showcase a few tracks from some featured bands managed by the label. These samplers have been well received by the Scottish music media.”

His Majesty’s Theatre

His Majesty’s Theatre was opened in 1906 seats more than 1,400 people making it the largest the-atre in North-East Scotland. The theatre’s design was down to Frank Matcham, a theatrical archi-tect and designer. Frank Matcham also designed the London Palladium.

The theatre was refurbished in 1999 after it was awarded a National Lottery grant. The new glass-fronted box office, café and restaurant was designed by Trevor Smith. Smith also designed the award-winning Aberdeen Maritime Museum. The venue is regularly visited by arts companies from all over the country and offers an eclectic range of performances throughout the year. It is also home to its resident ghost Jake, a stage hand who died in an accident back stage. Jake is thought to roam the corridors of the theatre and is often blamed for items mysteriously disappear-ing. The theatre is also home to a ‘grey lady’ who haunts the foyer area.

Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA) manages the the-atre. APA also run The Music Hall, Aberdeen Box Office and The Lemon Tree.

Ma CameronsMa Cameron’s is Aberdeen’s oldest pub having been around for almost 300 years. This well-established pub was sympathetic to the Jacobite cause and began to flourish in the 1800s as a coaching inn. Many Aberdeen hos-telries were run by woman and Ma Cameron’s in no different.

The pub we know today was named after one particular owner, Amelia Cameron; affectionately known as “Ma” who continued to run the pub after the death of her husband. The pub con-tinues to be a focal drinking point for locals and tourists alike.

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Aberdeen Harbour

One of the oldest businesses in Aberdeen, and indeed in Britain, is Aberdeen Harbour. The harbour is one of Europe’s most modern ports and boasts a history of more than eight centuries. It has played a crucial role in the industrial development of North-east Scotland.

The first recorded reference to the harbour was in 1136AD by King David I of Scotland. He granted the bishops of Aberdeen the right to introduce a levy on all ships trading at the port. Over the centuries links with Europe were increasing and when connections with Scandinavia were made, the Harbour saw a rede-velopment.

From 1582 onwards, a series of renovations took place which transformed the Harbour. This included the installation of the port’s first crane and the construction of a bulwark at Torry to increase the size of the entrance.

A number of engineers have been included in Harbour expansions over the years and this has been on-go-ing throughout its existence. Aberdeen Harbour has played an important role throughout the city’s histo-ry, particularly in World War II when it was used as an important naval base. Today, The Harbour sees around 4 million tonnes of cargo pass through it annually and contributes over 100 million pounds into the local economy.

onsider this: 1842, John Henry Anderson, illusionist, “The Wizard of the North” is onstage. He warns the audience that he’s about to perform his finale so that “ladies have an opportunity

towithdraw”. The Wizard draws a pistol and asks for a volunteer. The audience now know that he’sgoing to perform his masterpiece, the “Great Gun Trick”.

A particularly dangerous illusion, this trickhas claimed the lives of at least 12 magicians over the years. A member of the audience is given thepistol and points it at Anderson with shaky aim. With a flash and a bang the bullet is caught between Anderson’s teeth, met with thunderous applause.

A flamboyant performer, Aberdeenshire’s John Henry Anderson is said to be the first one to haveconjured a rabbit out of a hat. He dominated the entertainment industry in Aberdeen for over half

a century, styling himself “The Wizard of the North”. He performed for many of the crowned headsof Europe. Such was Anderson’s reputation that he was invited to places across the globe, spanningfrom America to Australia to perform his tricks. To-day Anderson continues to inspire magicians longafter his death in 1874. Among his admirers is Harry Houdini who was so deeply inspired by the manhe paid for the upkeep of his grave.

Anderson once amazed Queen Victoria at Balmoral by producing out-of-the-air hats, bird cages andeven his own son in highland dress. The young Prince of Wales wrote of Anderson’s visit with glee,remarking how the Wizard of the North fired a pis-tol causing “5 or 6 watches to go through Gibb’shead”, (Gibb was a footman.) Anderson also per-formed for the likes of other European royals likeCzar Nicholas I.

Another illusion among Anderson’s repertoire was the Inexhaustible Bottle in which he wouldproduce any beverage requested by the audience.

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With the help of his young son, he would passaround his “bottle” which would fill up audience’s glasses with whiskey, rum, gin, anything theywanted without running out. This trick was report-ed to have caused him a spot of bother due thecity’s popular temperance movement at that time, making the dispensing of alcohol unpopular tosay the least. This was not the only time Anderson was in trouble in America. It is reported that, as the American Civil War broke out, Anderson was play-ing in Georgia. His stage name of the “Wizard of the North” led to him being chased out of the south

because they thought he was a Yankee.

To have been able to globe-trot as Anderson did in the 19th Century, his reputation must havebeen remarkable. The New York Times testifies to this in his obituary in 1874: “Anderson was anexceedingly skilful conjurer and his reputation in this country was quite as great as his fame on theother side of the Atlantic where he performed be-fore many of the crowned heads of Europe.”

The main reason for Anderson’s fame wasn’t neces-sarily his staggering illusions but more to do withhim being a high-class master of advertising. Such were his promotional abilities, rumours spreadthat his bills were posted on the Pyramids of Egypt and that he used to lead herds of elephants downstreets carrying banners of his name and what the-atre he was playing in on that night.

But if it was the advertising that brought people to the show, it was Anderson’s illusions that keptthem there. His masterpiece was the “Great Gun Trick” in which he’d catch a bullet from a pistolfired by an audience member. It is now considered by many as the most dangerous feat in magic.

While this illusion was not created by Anderson, it was made famous by him. The feelings of dangerand suspense worked all too well with Anderson’s love of theatricality and indeed, the danger wasthere. At least 12 magicians have been killed per-forming this trick. One of the most infamous wasthat of Chung Ling Soo (real name William Robin-son) who was shot dead when the firearm used in

the trick malfunctioned in 1918.Such was Anderson’s taste for theatricality (he had a secret passion for acting which he had a briefstint in) that he styled himself “Professor”. He is famously quoted as saying “it is the duty of allmagicians to give entertainment”. This has helped to shape the way in which magic is performedtoday. Dave Goulding, former president of the Aber-deen Magical Society, said entertainment is“completely essential today” for magicians.

“An example is when a magician comes up to you

and tells you to take a card out of a deck and thentells you, without looking, what card you picked. That in itself isn’t exciting at all. If you can make the audience care about what card was picked, then it’s an experience. Then it is exciting.”

So great was the danger of Anderson’s gun trick that Harry Houdini, a great admirer of Anderson,was convinced not to try it. His friend, Harry Kellar pleaded to him in a letter:

“His bills were posted on the Pyramids of Egypt and he used to lead herds of elephants down the streets carrying banners of his name.”

“Don’t try the bullet-catching trick. There is always the biggest kind of risk that some dog will *job*you (by sticking real bullets in the gun which is meant to contain only blanks). And we can’t afford to lose Houdini. Harry, listen to your friend Kellar, who loves you as his own son, and don’t do it!”

Considering that Houdini was perfectly comfortable being tossed into the stormy North Sea whilebeing chained up (during his trip to Aberdeen in 1909). It was clear that Houdini had no problemsbeing faced with death’s dark curtain. So the bullet trick must have had some truly significant dangerbefore Houdini was convinced not to do it.

Houdini never did do the bullet trick but he did draw a high amount of inspiration from Andersonand his rivals. One of Anderson’s great adversaries was French magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin.Robert-Houdin is considered to be the father of modern conjuring. A number of Robert-Houdin’s

inventions were pirated due to his engineer Le Grand selling off his secrets to competitors. Ander-sonis reported to have been among them and he may have come up with the Inexhaustible Bottle trick in this way.

The two both obviously inspired the likes of Harry Houdini. Houdini took his stage name (his realname being Erik Weisz) from Robert-Houdin. It’s alleged that Houdini mistakenly thought that the“I” at the end of a name meant “like” in French.

It is clear that Houdini lost his respect Robert-Hou-din as he wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin in 1908, believing he took undue credit for other magicians’ innovations. It is clear, however, that Houdini never lost his admiration of Anderson, despite rumours that Anderson was the one who wrongly used the creations of Robert- Houdin. In 1909, Houdini visited Anderson’s grave and paid for its upkeep as it had fallen into disrepair.

Houdini visiting John Anderson’s grave in St. Nicholas Kirk, Aberdeen

With that, he places the chip in one hand, plainly in view, with the other hand hovering above it.Then, in an instant, the chip floated up into the other hand.

“You see, every sleight-of-hand trick takes months or even years of practice to master. I keep coins,chips, cards on me at all times so that I can practice wherever I am.”

Radek is one of the few full-time illusion-ists in the UK who focuses on adults. He believes, like Anderson did, that entertainment is at the heart of the trade.

“Have you ever seen The Prestige? It’s quite true in its depiction of magicians back-stabbing and steal-ing tricks from one an-other back in the days of those like Anderson and Robert-Houdin.

Now the industry has changed massively. We now actually have conferences in Blackpool (and across the world) where magicians will share their secrets. There really is a strong magic com-munity now.”

But why would you give away your secrets?

“Well, anybody who goes to a magic show today can almost always go online and immediatelyfind out the secret. But it’s not that what makes a magic performance good. It’s the delivery – thesuspense, the entertainment – that sets the fine line between amateurs and professionals. This iswhat Anderson believed in and it’s still relevant today.”

The differences between magic then and magic now can be seen through modern performers likeRadek. Many now see magic, as Anderson did, as a business and are not only going to performancevenues but are also working for corporations to help with team-building and even working oncompanies’ advertising projects, something that wouldn’t have been considered in Anderson’s time.(Radek mentions he thinks Anderson “was one of the first magicians to see magic as a business or

a product. Before him, magicians were largely seen as conmen trying to trick

you”.)

Now magicians, like Radek, follow Anderson in many

ways, with tours, advertis-ing and the use of tricks (albeit variations) sim-ilar to what Anderson used. AH noted how Radek, like Anderson, does trick involving pulling things out of thin air. This can be seen on Radek’s web page: http:// www.radekmakar.co.uk/

AHAnderson’s life saw him amass

fortunes and lose them again. He was struck by two theatre fires in

his life, which plunged him into debt. One theatre was the Glasgow City Theatre

which Anderson had built with the funds he had amassed from his tours. The theatre was built in 10 weeks in the Saltmarket on Glasgow Green and opened in May, 1845. In his book, ‘The Glasgow Stage’, published at the close of the 19th century Walter Baynham wrote:

Conjurer Radek Makar sits across the table. He pulls out poker chips and silver dollars from his pocket. “So, you know what gravity is?” he asks AH. “Of course you do. I’m going to make this poker chip defy it.”

“John Henry Anderson, the Aberdeen-shire born Wizard of the North, built a splendid theatre on the Green. It opened on 7th May 1845 with an operatic company led by Sims Reeves, one of the country`s top tenors (and who had sung with the newly formed Glasgow Choral Union.) Anderson proved a thorn in the flesh to both his rivals Miller of the Theatre Royal Adelphi and Alexander at the Thea-tre Royal, Dunlop Street”

The theatre attracted many of the country’s biggest stars. Anderson himself performed there,not only as a magician but also as the lead in “Rob Roy”. The theatre, described by the Glasgow Her-ald as “truly splendid within, embracing every ornamental detail, and auxiliary to comfort, on a magnificent scale,” burned down on November 18th 1845. This plummeted Anderson into debt.

However, so well-loved was Anderson that Mr Miller (a competitor of Anderson’s) of the Adelphi The-atre did a benefit gig for him and the others who were put in debt or out of work due to the fire a few nights later. After more touring, Anderson was in a second theatre fire in London in 1855, which took with it all of his possessions.

Anderson continued to tour right up until his death in 1874. However, death did not mean the end of his

legend. One of the people who helped bury Ander-son, William Carnie, reported that Anderson had a one-off coffin made for him specifically which had a glass panel to show his face.

Anderson’s grave can still be seen, in remarkably good repair, in the St Nicholas Churchyard. The spot was used by Anderson to commemorate his mother. The gravestone reads:

Yes! She had friends whenfortune smiled, if frown’d

they knew her not! She diedthe orphan wept but lived to

mark this Hallowed Spot.

Nobody knows what those harrowed lines mean. Anderson now lies in that spot. His legacy now lives through the magicians that he continues to inspire today, despite having been regrettably largely for-gotten in his home city. Eoin Smith, a young magi-cian from Aberdeen, remarked on the story behind Anderson’s burial coffin:

“Whether it is true or an urban myth, it fits in well

with the lineage of magic.” AT

History under your feet and on your doorstepHidden Aberdeen Tours offer regular themed walking tours highlighting Aberdeen’s forgotten, hidden, isolated and lost history. We also offer private bookings for groups of 7 or more, and we can tailor a route to suit your individual needs.

Blood & Granite: The Murder History Tour Delving into the city’s criminal past!

Aberdeen’s Blitz Experience: 21 April 1943 Remembering the city’s darkest hour of World War II.

Aberdeen’s Lost Cinemas A snapshot of the halcyon days of silver screen.

Aberdeen’s Medieval & Prehistoric Origins Travel back in time 8,000 years to the city’s earliest site and follow the medieval route to the Castlegate.

Old Aberdeen: Architectural Gems If walls could talk! Stories of Kings College and the Aultoun.

Medieval Castlegate A circular tour investigating the tales behind the facades of the city’s ancient marketplace and site of execution.

Tales of Old Torry From tiny prehistoric fisher hamlet to thriving Victorian village, hear the stories of Aberdeen’s weel-kent neighbours across the Dee.

Lost Lochlands Wander the heart of the Denburn’s prehistoric settlement which was dominated by the Loch of Aberdeen; recall too the many well-loved shops and businesses of the twentieth century swept away by development.

The Old King’s Highway Follow the old road from the south beginning at Brig of Dee and reach the Green via the Hardgate; a ramblers’ special.

NEW FOR 2013:Sea Beach to Fittie: from trams to trawlermen Beginning at the Beach Ballroom, the start of the old Sea Beach tram line, we take a walk along the promenade, picking up stories of the sites and citizens connected to this area.

Burkers & Body-snatchers Learn of the murky medical doings of the surgeons, students and professional resurrectionists in the city from the 1800s to the passing of the Anatomy Act in 1832 which put an end to the theft of bodies from cemeteries and legalised the supply of corpses to medical research.

£10 regular adult £8 concession (child/ OAP/ unwaged/ students)

Tickets are sold by Aberdeen Box Office unless advertised. We accept payment from private customers by bank transfer/ cheque/ PayPal/ or cash on the day.

For more information and times of tours please email or telephone, or check out the website, facebook page or twitter.

E: info@hiddenaberdeen.co.uk T: 07572 582198

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From the Romantic story of the Battle of the Honours to William Wallace’s invasion, we

exploreThe History of Dunnottar Castle

eptember 1651. Dunnottar Castle is laid siege by Oliver Cromwell’s army. A mere garrison of forty men defend it and the Scottish Crown Jewels that are housed inside.

Commander George Ogilvy knows that capture is imminent so his wife and the wife of a local parish minister have devised a plan to smuggle the regalia, the last great symbol of monarchy, out of the castle.

The forty men held out against the might of the Eng-lish army for eight months. Once the invading army had received their heavy artillery, the small garrison surrendered after ten days of heavy cannon fire. However, when Cromwell’s men searched the castle for the Regalia and the Papers of the newly crowned Charles II, they found the cupboards bare.

The credit for saving the crown jewels is largely given to the wife of Rev. James Grainger (only known as Mrs Grainger). As the story tells, Mrs Grainger, bringing bundles of flax from the castle, had the crown concealed under her apron and the sceptre disguised as a distaff. The jewels were then buried under Kinneff Church for eleven years until the King returned to the throne and the Honours returned to Edinburgh Castle.

Dunnottar Castle has a rich history with the site itself having been inhabited since Pictish times (5000 B.C. to 700 A.D. exact date is not known). Prominey Queen of Scots and the future King Charles II.

While the castle is well known for the romantic story of saving the crown jewels, it has had some darker times in its lengthy past.

“She had the crown concealed under her apron and the sceptre disguised as a distaff.”

In 1685, 167 Covenanters (122 men and 45 women) were thrown into the “Whig’s Vault” for two months with little food and no sanitation. These people had been arrested for not accepting King Charles II as the Supreme Head of the Church. The Covenanters, along with King Charles II, had signed the National Covenant of Scotland in 1638 that separated matters of Church and State. Simply because they stuck to their word, the Covenanters were imprisoned.

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The vault was covered with wet, muddy ground and was nothing more than a gloomy airless cellar which can still be seen by visitors today. All of their food and water had to be bought from theguards. Twenty-five men escaped, fifteen of whom were captured and tortured and two fell to theirdeaths. The remaining prisoners were put on a ship to the West Indies, on which 70 died during the voyage.

As with many things, religion was at the heart of many of the events that have taken place atDunnottar. The site was originally used by the Picts, the name actually comes from the Pictishword “Dun” which means hill fort or place of strength. The Picts were the original people to occupy the site at Dunnottar and its importance to them stemmed from their religion of Druidism.

In this religion they worshipped femininity, mas-culinity and nature spirits. However, in the 5 th Century A.D, St. Ninian is said to have travelled to Dunnottar and converted the Picts there to Chris-tianity, choosing the site for one of his churches.

Now it is said that a Druid spirit “The Green Lady” wanders the castle (reported to have been seen in the brewery) searching for her “lost children” who were converted to Christianity.

AH Moving along the touristy coastal path 2 miles from Stonehaven AH is treated to a rare view of Dunnottar, one of Scotland’s oldest, and most im-pressive, sites for tourism. Of course the castlenever did fully recover form Cromwell’s cannon fire but has been in the process of constantrestoration for the last 93 years. The castle has been in the possession of the Cowdray family from1925 and has been open to visitors ever since.

Although the castle now lies in ruin, the evocative remains give a hint as to what the fort oncelooked like. Among the most interesting is the Tower House, a 14th Century structure that wouldhave originally been three storeys high and housed a Lord, an example of a cross between a noble mansion and a fortified residence.

The Whig’s Vault

While the castle is in ruin, the 160ft walls remain, strong as ever, bearing testament to the might of the castle that beat off invading armies dating back to the Vikings

Another who has invaded Dunnottar is William Wallace. In 1297 he besieged the castle that hadbeen held by English troops. Terrified by the pro-gress of Wallace and his army, the 4,000 Englishtroops holed themselves up in Dunnottar’s stone chapel (which AH had a look through during ourvisit). The English naively thought that hiding in a church would save them, however, they were tomeet a grizzly end. Wallace torched the chapel, burning the occupants. Some of the men were said to have escaped to one end- jumping off Dunnottar’s sheer face and onto the rocks below. Blind Harry, a Scottish Poet from the 15th Cen-tury, described the Dunnottar attack in his poem “Wallace”.

Therefore a fire was brought speedily:Which brun’t the church, and all

those South’ron boysOut o’er the rock the rest rush’d great

noise;Some hung on craigs, and loath were

to die.Some lap, some fell, some flutter’d in

the sea;And perish’d all, not one remain’d

alive.(Extract from Blind Harry’s “Wal-

lace” c1470s.)

This is thought to be the real-life inspiration for the scene in Braveheart where Wallace burnsEnglish troops in a hut.

These are a few of the legends that are whispered through the castle’s walls. While the ruins are allthat remain, Dunnottar’s presence and history

can still be experienced today. AT

Fit for a Queen

A History visits the Royal Lochna-gar Distillery to see how they make whisky personally approved by Queen Victoria

he A History team’s day start-ed inauspiciously when we had to dig our car out of the deep Cairngorms snow. With this out of the way we four intrepid explorers were free to venture forth on the tour

of the Royl Lochnagar Distillery.

We were given a short history lesson before our group, which included a friendly family from down South, commenced our tour of the distillery.

This was the first experience in a distillery for most of the team so there was a lot to take in. The dis-tillery itself is a wonder to the senses as each room has a different temperature, a different smell and a different sight to experience.

The guide remarked that Malt Whisky has three main ingredients; yeast, malted barley and fresh spring water from the hills. She then allowed us to taste the barley that would eventually find them-selves in a bottle of single-malt Lochnagar. Our design editor decided not to taste any in revulsion to the smoky, peat-like smell.

Despite having the River Dee flowing freely around it, the distillery has never used water from it in modern times, unlike many others on other rivers such as the Spey.

A History was then guided into a room that hummed. Two massive wooden vats lay in the mid-dle with rotors mixing the ingredients inside.

“Royal Lochnagar still uses a old-fashioned open top Mashtun (the vessel used in the mashing pro-cess to convert the starches in crushed grains into sugars for fermentation), a rarity in Scotland as most distilleries now use a more modern version”, the guide explained.

”After the Mashtun has done its work the water is drained to create what is known as Wort. A Large distillery will do this process up to thirty times a day, Royal Lochnagar do it five times.”

“Each room has a different tempera-ture, a different smell and a different sight to experience.”

Round the corner and up the stairs were the stills.Two 9ft copper stills stood tall shadowing the room letting off an intense heat. The guide stood behind a black rail that had signs warning of the extreme temperature of the stills.

“Each individual distillery’s stills are a different size and shape so as to create a unique product. Each distillery is therefore very protective of their still size.”

This led to any prospect of pictures of the still to be dashed against a wall.

The next room was a cold tomb. The cool stone walls were barely perceivable in the darkness, the

dusty smell lingered beside the rows of wooden casks that lay silent in the black. The guide then allowed us to smell the whisky stored in these casks from the 70s and 80s.

“Scottish Malt Whisky is stored in one of two casks. A Fine-Oak cask original-ly used to hold Bourbon in American distilleries or a “Sherry-Oak” cask from Spain originally used to hold Sherry” she explained.

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The Fine-Oak was bold whereas the Sherry-Oak had a much sweeter aroma, it was then explained that many budding stillers use this old room of retired malts to be shown how different casks can create different a different flavour of whisky.

Next, Royal Lochnagar sends it bottles to be stored in Lossiemouth for twelve years before it is bottled and sold.”

Then there was the tasting itself. A History was taken into a sun-soaked room full of open windows, historical trinkets and framed pictures. Upon the long black table was set of whisky tasters for each member of the tour. The first was Lochnagar’s sig-nature single malt which the produce the most of and send to major retailers.

The Lochnagar single malt is a sweet but firm and is described by the distillery as “typical of the High-land style”. The three malts ranged in price and age and were all delicious, although the last nip, sold for £140 a bottle, did prove to be the paramount as you might expect.

Sadly our editor, and designated driver, was only able to sample the fantastic beverage. Our design

editor also decided against trying the £140 taster as she doesn’t enjoy whiskey. This led to a number of extra nips for the advertising manager and produc-tion editor who were only too happy to oblige.

The tour was easy going, full of different experienc-es and historical information. The only challenge it provided was walking back to the car in a straight

line. MS

By appointment to their late majes-ties Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V in the shadow of Balmoral Castle, Royal Deeside, a ded-icated team of craftsmen and women produce one of Scotland’s most exclu-sive whiskys. During the 1700s Parliament put heavy tax on whisky, putting distiller-ies out of business and increasing the number of illicit stills across Scotland producing illegal whisky. The hills and glens of the Cairngorms had been an ideal hiding place for il-licit stills and at one point it was be-lieved hundreds of stills were produc-ing illegal brews. However in the early 1800s restric-tions on licensing were eased and Scotland could again produce top quality whisky. Then in 1845 a man by the name of John Begg opened “The New Lochna-gar” Distillery. Three years later Mr.

Begg invited Prince Albert to visit his distillery while his family were staying at Balmoral.

The next day Prince Albert, Queen Victoria and their children visited the small distillery and this was when Lochnagar was awarded its Royal War-rant. The distillery became The Royal Lochnagar and Queen Victoria report-ed to having “enjoyed Royal Lochna-gar in her claret”, she wrote in her diary calling it “Our Dear Paradise”. What makes Royal Lochnagar special in this day and age is how little it has changed over the years. The distillery is small in comparison to others in Scotland, and keeps tradi-tion in its production.

Many Royals and several prime minis-ters have visited the distillery over the years and the tradition has remains the same.

The History of Royal Lochnagar

Available t

o buy now!

Mary SlessorPioneer, Mother, Judge

A History takes a look at the life of the woman on the £10 note.

ou would recognise Mary Slessor’s face if you saw it, you will have seen it hun-dreds of times before. Yet the chances are that you don’t know who she is or where you’ve seen her.

Mary Slessor was a Scottish missionary in Nigeria, a pioneer of women’s rights in Africa and the saviour of many women and children from ritual murder stemming from a culture where witchcraft and superstition were prevalent. Although there is not much to commemorate Miss Slessor in her birth-place of Aberdeen, the Scottish people still remem-ber her as she features on a current set of Scottish £10 notes.

Mary’s early dreams of doing pioneer work in the remote interior of Africa stemmed from her moth-er, from Oldmeldrum, who was a deeply religious woman with a keen interest in missionary work.

When she was 11, Mary’s family moved to Dundee where she was introduced to the strong work ethic that would continue throughout her life. She spent

half her day in school followed by the other half being spent as a mill labourer. At 14, she worked twelve hour days entirely as a mill worker.However, Mary learned to deal with hardship through her faith. Her rudimental education paid off when a mission was set up near to her home and she volunteered as a teacher. Even in her early days stories arose of her bravery.

It is said she defied a gang who threatened her by swinging a metal weight attached by a string closer and closer to her face. Mary challenged the group by attaining agreement that, if she didn’t flinch, they would all have to attend Sunday school. Sure enough, she succeeded. This must have helped prepare her for her pioneering encounters in Africa as it’s told that, on one occasion, she waded into a group of attackers with her umbrella, dispersing the “warriors”.

In 1876, Mary sailed for Calabar (located within present-day Nigeria). The area she was to arrive in was one whose society had been torn apart in the slave trade, allowing the likes of superstition and witchcraft to become dominant.

Such practices as ritual sacrifices of tribal dignitar-ies and the murdering of twin babies were common

“On one occasion, she waded into a group of attackers with her umbrella, dis-persing the “warriors”.

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in this culture, the latter of which was particularly abhorrent to her. The tribes thought that twins were a result of a curse by an evil spirit who fa-thered one of the children. Resultantly, the tribes would kill both children and shunned the mother from society.

Mary successfully fought to forestall this irrational superstition, often risking her own life to stop trib-al leaders from killing twin babies.

In this society, women were regarded as lower than cattle and Mary is considered to be a pioneer for women’s rights in Africa due to her rising their social standing there. Mary also set up hospitals, churches and hospitals in Nigeria.In 1888, following word of the death of her mother and sister, Mary went north to Okoyong, the “up country” of West Africa. It was an area that had

claimed the lives of many missionaries in the past. However, Mary believed that pioneering was best suited to women because they are less threatening to the men of undiscovered tribes. After 15 years in Okoyong living among tribes as a missionary and having learned their language, Mary was asked by the Governor to combine her duties with an ad-ministrative position in the Itu court. She would, occasionally, also work as a judge settling tribal disputes.

Another of Slessor’s accomplishments was her convincing of the British Foreign Office to fund the expansion of her missionary and pioneering pro-jects. Gradually, money became forthcoming and as new missionaries arrived to take up her previous posts, Mary could delve further into the heart of Af-rica, braving the hostility towards such incursions by unknown tribes.

Mary’s final years were a battle between her arduous duties and ill health. Eventually, the woman who had thought nothing of all-night treks through the rainforest was re-duced to travelling in a handcart. On the 13th January 1915, Mary Slessor died aged 67 after a prolonged bout of fever. She was accorded a state funeral and in 1953 Elizabeth II, the new head of the Commonwealth, made her own pilgrimage to her grave.

Mary’s grave lies in Calabar, Nigeria in the country she served so well. To the tribes, she was known as the “Mother to all People” as she served many people selflessly as a mother would.

On her grave, Daniel 12:3 is inscribed in tribute to her life:

“They that turn many to righteous-ness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.”

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“The tribes thought that twins were a result of a curse by an evil spirit who fathered one of the children.”

The Lost Cinemas of Aberdeen

The Lost Cinemas of Aberdeen

t is hard to imagine that at one point in its life Aberdeen possessed no less than 35 sin-gle screen cine-mas across the

city, but with the rise of multiplex theatres these classic venues have been lost. Now only small hints of what once occupied the buildings we walk past everyday remain.

If we were to suppose this were 1896, and we were enjoying a typical morning brows-ing through the paper, we would have come across an advertisement for “animated photographs”, or “scenes reproduced on a canvas screen with all the actual move-ments of REAL LIFE”.

Back in times when people had never heard of ‘moving pictures’ this would have been an exciting piece of news. After reserving a seat at the cinema and watching some live pre-show entertainment, the lights would have gone down and the astonished people in their seats would be shocked and awed by trains rushing towards them and ladies

seen dancing their way across the screen.

So the age of cinema had begun. Of the 35 cinemas that once operated across Aber-deen, the Hidden Aberdeen Tours company takes its customers through 11 found on and around Union Street.

The first of these is the old Regent cinema on Justice Mill Lane. The Regent opened on 27th February 1923 by Jack Poole, who belonged to a family which already owned an extensive number of cinemas across the

country. The Regent was built on a slope which created a natural amphitheatre and contained only one screen, as was the norm with most theatres of that time.

At 3 o’clock on that afternoon of February 27th the Regent proudly opened its doors for the first time to a selected audience. The main feature film of the day was “Over The Hill”, a melodramatic tale of a mother who works herself to the bone bringing up her family until they turn against her. All except her one loyal son who returns to rescue his poor, betrayed mother from the workhouse she is banished to by one of her less devoted children.

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Jack Poole was well known for his advertis-ing stunts and when “King Kong” first came out in theatres, Poole organised a publicity stunt to gather crowds towards the cinema on its opening night. A local man was hired to dress as a gorilla and jump around the roof of the cinema for the night in order to draw in the crowds and encourage people to come in to watch the movie.

The Regent continued to show movies until 2001, when it opened its doors for the last time. Now the classic building contains the Nuffield Health Centre, and almost all traces of its earlier life as one of the most popular cinemas in Aberdeen are gone.

The tour continues and second on the journey down Union Street is The Play-house cinema, opened on 14th September 1921. Its owner, Bert Gates, had long been part of the entertainment business. Having had ambitions as a stage artiste, he became partners with his wife Nellie and the pair specialised in sketches written by Bert himself. One of their most famous acts from those days was ‘Skating Carnival’, which was performed entirely on roller skates.

One of The Playhouse’s biggest accomplish-ments was perhaps the filming and show-ing of the Epson Derby which all took place over the same 24 hours, an impressive feat for a time when live television didn’t exist. It would be the farthest north a London newsreel had ever been shown on the same day.

The race was run at 3 o’clock and the plane to Aberdeen, containing the edited film, was in the air by 5.30pm. By 10 o’clock, Cas-tlehill and many other vantage points were covered with swarms of people scanning the skies over Tullos Hill where the drop was to happen.

When the sounds of the plane’s engine were finally heard over the quiet evening air, the package containing the film was thrown from the doors but the tiny par-achute was caught in the plane’s rudder wires and torn off.

It plummeted to the ground into the back garden of No. 161 Victoria Road where there was a scramble to be the first to grab the bag.

16-year old Alexander Russell, who grabbed the bag, jumped onto a tram with his two friends and was suitable rewarded when he handed over the package and its precious content. At 10:50pm the audience at The Play-house cheered the winner, Captain Cuttle, of the race that had taken place just that after-noon at the other end of the country.

In 1959 The Play-house changed its name to The Play-house Continental, and began showing a rage of “continen-tal movies”. These foreign films or “blue movies” were essentially ‘adult’ movies from Europe and the change didn’t last long, according to Fiona the tour guide, “Aberdeen just wasn’t ready or blue movies”. The Play-house eventually closed in 1974.

Next up on the walk down Union Street is The Capitol cinema. Looking upon the build-ing today, one would not even guess that it once was home to one of the most prominent cinemas on Union Street at the time. It stands empty and unused which is tragic, especially when taking into account the words said by Bert Gates in February 1933 when The Capitol first opened:

“We have built The Capitol not for today but for the generations of Aberdeen people to come. The Company has dedicated The Capi-tol to the people of Aberdeen, their children and their children’s children in the hope that in generations to come they may appreciate what has been given to them.”

The Capitol was quick to gain popularity, opened on the site of the old Electric Cinema it offered a full film and dining experience with its elaborate restaurant and was helped along by the fact there was a tram stop just outside its doors so the line “all trams stop at the electric” could be used for many of the promotional flyers and posters designed for

“Aberdeen just wasn’t ready for blue cinema” says the Hidden Aberdeen tour guide, Fiona.”

The Capitol.

The lighting system was incomparable to an-ything seen in Aberdeen at the time as it was one of the first cinemas in the UK designed to have a lighting system which could allow up to 17, 000 colour combinations to be projected in time to music.

This popular cinema was not only known for the movies shown there but also as a venue for music, with daily organ interludes and occasional sing along musical presentations were complemented by The Capitol’s wealth of lighting effects. One of the biggest musical attractions of The Capitol’s history was the arrival of The Rolling Stones in 1984.

When they were first scheduled to play, the owners of The Capitol had heard stories and police reports of the damage inflicted on buildings by frantic fans, and out of fear for their beloved cinema they had Aberdeen City Police there to oversee the concert. Everything ran smoothly and The Rolling Stones returned for a second concert the next year.

The Capitol’s popularity unfortunately de-clined and by 1998 it’s only use was as a bar, using the old upstairs restaurant. Now the grand organ, which once entertained so many, stands unused and unseen, except by ‘urban explorers’ who enter every so often to see for themselves what once was.

In April 1914 a new phase of motion picture operating was brought to Aberdeen with the first purpose built cinema in the city; La Scala. Named after an Italian opera house, La Sca-la reflected the ideas of its management to combine cinema going with a romantic and exciting aura, using Mediterranean and east-ern styles to create an exotic atmosphere.

Tearooms and cafés had become a common addition to Scottish cinemas, reflecting the tradition of ‘high tea’ the La Scala tearoom enjoyed increased popularity by the member of the armed forces during wartime. This pop-ularity was not due to the quality of their tea and cakes but rather the quality of the ladies of frequented the café.

“This popularity was not due to the quality of their tea and cakes but rather the quality of the ladies”

The tea house had become a place for the streetwalkers of Aberdeen to pick up men and the tearoom had to eventually be shut down by the authorities to stop the soliciting.

The tour takes A History further down Union Street, where we arrive outside the well known building; the Music Hall.

Opened in 1822, it was arguably one of the grandest places in Aberdeen at the time. With a parlous and billiard rooms, a card room, ball-room, banqueting hall and ballroom it was the meeting place for the members of high society within Aberdeen.

During its life The Music Hall has served as a venue for an array of different events, from dog shows to its brief time as a roller rink. In January 1931 an attempt was made to claim the world marathon non-stop roller skating title. The participant gave up after only a few hours on account of blistered feet. Manager of the roller rink at the time, Hadyn Marshall, rath-er than disappoint the crowd took to the rink himself with another amateur skater and the pair broke the record with a time of 61 hours and 36 minutes, a record which still stands today.

In 1896, just nine months after the Lumiere brothers first displayed their ‘kinematograph’ in Paris, 18 short films were shown at The Music Hall including one which even featured hand pencilled colour.

This was Aberdeen’s very first cinema experi-ence, among its broad repertoire of uses, The Music Hall can also claim to be Aberdeen’s very first cinema.

The tour comes to an end in front of Aberdeen’s oldest cinema still open. The Belmont.

The Belmont has been around almost since the beginning of cinema, opened in 1910 it was well known for it’s ‘sing along’ shows which featured a live organist and singer, well known songs would be played to the pictures and crowds could come along and sing their favour-ite tunes.

The Belmont also became the main event for many people’s Sundays, as it was considered a religious day the Belmont would put on re-ligious movies and shows for it’s customers, which they enjoyed because it felt like a contin-uation of their morning at church.

The Belmont has had a few near death expe-riences, twice becoming a carpet store. But through the persistence of people that love the building and it’s history, it regained life as a cinema.

It could be said that it is a tragedy that so many of the decadent and dramatic cinemas of the past have been lost to new generations, surviv-ing now only in old photographs and the mem-ories of those still alive who witnessed them.

The hints of what once was are still seenby those in the know, and here at A History we will never be able to walk down Uunion Street again without hearing the hustle and bustle of trams and seeing the illuminated signs above each of the grand cinemas.

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“The Music Hall has served as a venue for an array of different

events, from dog shows to its brief time as a roller rink. “

he 27th of September 1883. As is with tradition, it is a dreary summers day in Ab-erdeen. Although the rain is pouring down, today is not any other day in the Granite City. It is a public holiday in

Aberdeen and thousands head towards the city centre to watchPrincess Beatrice cut the ribbon to officially open Aberdeen’s newes0t public attrac-tion, Duthie Park.

The day started with a parade through the streets of Aberdeen so her royal highness could travel to the park and the thousands flocked to the streets to see her arrive, following to the direction of the new park. Upon arriving at the entrance, the Princess approaches the bandstand for her speech and a great show is put on to massive cheers from the

crowd. The park is officially open.

Thousands pour in to the park to see this beautiful example of Victorian parkland that stretches out across 44 acres

The first site was the giant mound situated at the top left corner of the park. A mountain of grass with a flagpole situated in it stretches up in to the air and waves proudly over the rooftops of Aber-deen. A structure which still proudly stands. Next was the pond to the bottom left hand side. A large boating feature which soon became filled with toy boats and wildlife.

Boats were available to hire for a short period of time and demand became high as families set out for a paddle around the pond. Just offset from this was a rockery pond and smaller water features which then led the visitors on to a beautiful sight of the River Dee.

A calming presence at the south side of the park. At this time the rest of the garden was made up of statues and obelisks including a sun dial however the middle portion was dominated by open grass-land, unchanged to this day. A relaxing area of grass for families to enjoy themselves in. And that is exactly what the land was intended for.

Duthie Park

Through the Ages

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“The day started with a parade through the streets of Aberdeen so her royal highness could travel to the park”

Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston gifted the park to the city of Aberdeen in 1881 who bought the land for £30,000 from the estate of Arthurseat. To this day, Duthie Park is still listed on the Royal Com-mission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland as Arthurseat. Miss Duthie wished the park would provide a worthy memorial to her uncle, Mr Walter Duthie, a well-known member of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet in Edinburgh, and her brother Mr Alexander Duthie a respected member of the Society of Advocates of Aberdeen.

A gardener originally designed Duthie Park, one of the Aberdeen’s most highly visited areas. W.R. McKelvie of Dundee was a gardener all his life and

had experience in designing large-scale projects in Scotland, among the most notable is the Cathcart

Cemetery in Glasgow that he designed ten years previously. The original design was meant to give the people of Aberdeen a relaxing wide- open space to spend time in, the boating lake being of quite large importance.

The years have seen the park go through many changes. This is partly due to some of the more modern improvements made such as the introduc-tion of a winter garden in the 1970s, which has since been renamed the David Welch Winter Gardens. The winter garden has become a massive tourist attrac-tion and is one of Europe’s largest indoor gardens, it alone attracts an estimated 300 000 people. It’s namesake, David Welch, was Chief Executive of the Royal Parks and before that was Director of Leisure and Recreation in Aberdeen.

He was recruited to the job from Aberdeen where, as director of leisure and recreation, he had trans-formed the “granite city” into the “floral city”. He transformed all of Aberdeen’s public gardens. When he started in 1967, there were 27,000 municipal ros-es, upon leaving in 1992, there were two million rose bushes in Aberdeen’s gardens.Walking around the park now there are big differences to be seen from back in 1883. The boating pond is much larger now and the winter gardens dominate almost a whole side of the park. A car park has been added however

this will be reduced in the restoration. Tennis courts and a bowling green are now present, these will also be removed in the restoration, and the tennis courts will make way for the 1920’s rock-eries that previously stood there.

The mound with the flagstaff on it is being altered to match the original design for when the park first opened and a viewing area will be put in, giving vis-itors to the park a better chance to observe over the area of land.

The linked lakes will be put back in to working order and the boating pond will be put back in to function-al use with boats being introduced back. A clear sign of the history being brought back in to the park.

The official re-opening date is set for the 20th Sep-tember almost 130 years to the day since the park originally opened. It’s expected to be a fantastic day out and hopefully the weather is kinder to the peo-

ple of Aberdeen the second time around. SK

The Torcher ParadeA History takes a look at Europe’s largest torch lit parade

berdeen is a city with a very long history and over time it adopted a variety of differ-ent traditions. Perhaps the one which rallies the biggest sense of community spirit is the Torcher Parade.

On the last Saturday of April the Torcher Parade brightens up the grey streets of Aberdeen as it travels through the city’s centre. The event is the largest torch lit parade in Europe and was estab-lished in 1889. Hundreds of students get involved and spend days exerting massive amounts of energy to decorate floats with a range of themes.

This year the parade saw themes which ranged from Hawaiian to Scooby doo to the Aristocats.

The parade starts at Marischal College and travels through Schoolhill, up the Rosemount Viaduct to Skene Street. The torches which lead the parade are lit at Queen’s Cross and then the parade travel down Albyn Place and Alford Place until it reaches Union Street. The parade finishes at the Castlegate and the floats travel back up King Street. The pa-rade’s route has remained similar since it was first established.

The parade first started as a way for nurses to col-lect money to donate to the wards. However, 1921 saw the students of Aberdeen taking over control of the parade with the creation of the Aberdeen Stu-dents’ Charities Campaign. The student led parade raises money for various local charities and has long been a success.

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Steven Mills, President of Education & Welfare and also Undergraduate Governor at Robert Gordon Uni-versity said: “I think the Torcher Parade is fantastic. It is a really fun day when not only students from all Institutes get together to build their floats, but our fellow Aberdonians come to watch it. It shows what a great community we have and how special the Torcher tradition is.”

The parade is a great example of the Aberdonian community spirit; however, it is not without its controversy. In 2008, two boys were detained for five years after they crashed their motorcycle in the parade and injured many people. The parade was cancelled and it was estimated that Aberdeen chari-ties lost out on £10,000 because of the incident.

Costs of hosting the parade have also steadily risen over the years. 2013 saw officials seeking financial support from a variety of local businesses. En-ermech Ltd and Ferguson Group Ltd are among a range of businesses which have supported the event this year. Original 106 FM also acts as the parade media partner, broadcasting highlights of the parade.

The floats are built in an Aberdeen University car park where there is an ear-ly morning material grab. However, this year there was an emphasis put on pre building to ensure every float looked as best as can be.Rachel Sanders, Chair of RGU: Rag said: “The day provides a

great team building experience for society mem-bers. It also acts as a bonding experience for new members to get to know their society. On arriving at

the Gallowgate it is great to see everyone dressed in their costumes and ready

to go. Torcher always brings a great crowd, and is a fantastic day of

getting your group, society or sports team together, all

while raising money for some great charities.”

The Aberdeen Students’ Charities Campaign has been raising money for charities and groups since 1921 and in 2012 the campaign managed to raise

£69,000. The money was dis-tributed to over 36 local and

national organisations. These included CLAN, the National

Autistic Society and The Bread-maker. The Torcher Parade is just

one event of many which helps to raise this money. Other events include fashion

shows, pub quizzes and music events. The aim is to allow students to engage with the local community whilst raising money for worthy causes.

The Torcher Parade’s long history has seen it be-come a tradition well loved by all, local or not. It shows the generous side of the Aberdonian commu-nity and looks set to continue to prosper.

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“The parade first started as a way for nurses to collect money to do-nate to the wards. “

“This year the parade saw themes which ranged from Ha-waiian to Scooby doo to the Aristocats.”

Lewis Grassic Gibbon Journalist, Soldier, Writer

small child sits staring list-lessly out of the car window as his family travel south from Aberdeen,the scenery a blur of grey and green as it whizzes past.

He has long given up pestering his parents and has less interest still in their conversation. Insteadhe lets his eyes wander and take in the passing scenery.

The majority of it is monotonous and dull; a house here, a tree there. Just as his eyes begin todroop the car rolls by the Arbuthnott slip-road, near Fordoun and he glimpses a sign saying ‘LewisGrassic Gibbon Centre.’

His eyes become lucid again as he visualises mon-keys swinging from trees, remembering that tripto the zoo a few weeks ago.

At once he decides to resume pestering his parents: “Mum, Dad, can we please go and see themonkeys?” The parents turn round perplexed and a family trip is negotiated.

As incredulous as it sounds, Isabella Williamson, the Centre manageress explains that anassociation between Primates and one of Scotland’s most prominent literary talents is not at alluncommon:

“You would be surprised how many confused tour-ists we get stopping here and asking if themuseum has got anything to do with Gibbons!”

In fact, the name Lewis Grassic Gibbon is the pseu-donym of James Leslie Mitchell, a celebrated

author from the Howe of the Mearns.

Nestled between the rolling hills and the red clay earth of the Howe of the Mearns, the centre iswithin walking distance of the birthplace of James Leslie Mitchell.

Visiting here, you will learn about the life, unlikely rise to fame and untimely death of the Mearns’most famous son, born in 1901.

Isabella agreed to meet A:History and offer some of her expertise on the history of the author, althoughshe made it plain that she didn’t have long, due to a ‘busy’ schedule.

“His eyes become lucid again as he visualises monkeys swinging from trees, remembering that trip to the zoo a few weeks ago.”

Sitting across the table from her and glancing around at the plain pine tearoom empty of visitors,this seemed unlikely.

“Well I won’t keep you long, this place is pretty heaving.”

Her face remains a mask:

“Believe it or not, we get a lot of visitors here at certain times of the year. Lewis Grassic Gibbon is acelebrated author worldwide.”

She points out ‘A Scots Quair’, the most famous work written by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, –we’ll callhim ‘LGG’ for short – a trilogy following the life of

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Chris Guthrie.

Sunset Song, Cloud Howe and Grey Granite tell the story of Chris, torn between her love of the land and her desire to escape the narrow prospects of peasant life.

Reviews of the book were written by readers as far afield as at the New York Times whoquipped; ‘This book may be read with delight the world over.’

“How many visitors does the centre get in a year?”

“We get around 7000 visitors, it varies a bit and ob-viously there are more visitors at some times ofthe year than other times but I still think that’s an impressive amount

“We’ve been here for 21 years and the visitors keep our doors open, so it’s pretty clear that a lot ofpeople like Lewis Grassic Gibbon.”

Grasping a pile of envelopes and thoughtfully tap-ping her fingers on the front cover of A ScotsQuair, one gets the sense that Isabella is serious

about her job:

“We sell more Grassic Gibbon literature here than anywhere else in Scotland.”

She makes a sweeping gesture to draw attention to the neat rows of books, posters and short stories lined along the wall of the centre:

“So how important an author was he?”

“Sunset Song was voted the best Scottish book of all time which must say something. I think hiswork is so powerful because a lot of it is based on real characters, just jumbled about.”

At this point Isabella makes her excuses, gathers up her envelopes, hikes her glasses up her noseand saunters back through the museum to attend to her ‘busy’ schedule.

The museum tour is a rather grand term consider-ing the size of the place, a converted church hallwhich is half museum and half tearoom.

Tourists are led through a heavy red curtain to the back half of the centre which contains severalglass exhibits, pictures and information on faded yellow placards.

The centre decided to buck tradition in recent years and invested in a colossal 16 inch LCD TV,offering visitors a ‘stunning’ cinematic tour of the life of LGG.

“So how important an author was he?”“Sunset Song was voted the best Scot-tish book of all time which must say something.”

The DVD was more than a little dated and the vol-ume was much too high but nonetheless,watching it did reveal the extraordinary life of the author.

At the age of 8, he moved to the Howe of the Mearns with his fami-ly where they stayed in a bleakrural cottage surrounded by hills and trees.

LGG develops a fascination with the Mearns Land-scape from that early age which will dictate his lifeand work from then on.

As a child, Mitchell is lonely and introspective and throughout school only reveals an intenseenthrallment with local history.

He eventually goes to second-ary school at Mackie Academy in Stonehaven but can’t cope with the social climate there and so drops out at the age of 16.

After leaving school he finds work at the Aberdeen Journal as a junior reporter and begins todemon-strate a flair for writing.

However, he soon becomes bored and reveals an im-patience to move further afield and leave the harsh North East climate and its people behind.

Joining the Army in 1919, Mitch-ell fights in the Arab rebellion

where he decides that the life of a soldier is not for him. So he joins the RAF.

The DVD shows pictures of LGG smiling cheerfully next to a plane, enjoying this profession more in peace. He remains there until his writing career begins to blossom in 1924.

From then onwards, he enters a series of short story

competitions that he wins with the unanimous decision

of the judges.

It is around this time that he mar-ries Rebecca Middleton, a girl who

grew up nearby him in Arbuthnott.

Deciding to write full time, he starts piecing togeth-er his most famous work, the trilogy A Scots Quair.

His writing interweaves beautiful description of the Scottish landscape and the course reality of life in the North East of Scotland in the early 20th Centu-ry.

Both his life and his work speak of a division be-tween his love of the land and his ambition to find an easier place to make a living. Sunset Song is published in 1932 and the trilogy is finished around the same time as that.

On the 7th of February 1935, James Leslie Mitchell suffers a severe bout of Gastro Enteritis and dies suddenly, one week before his 35th birthday.

In a cruel twist of fate, curiously similar to the kind of harsh and unforgiving nature of the North-East illustrated in his work, Lewis Grassic Gibbon suf-fered an untimely death. His grave sits nestled amongst trees in a quiet and

serene corner of the village. The church building dates back to medieval times and serves as a poign-ant reminder of the timelessness of the authors work.

Ancient architecture seems fitting given his passion for history and the silence and isolation of hisgrave reflect his own character and his desire for solitude for much of his life.

Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s gravestone reads:

‘The Kindness of Friends, the Warmth of Toil, the Peace of Rest.’

Many of his short stories and his better known works can be bought in bookshops throughoutScotland or online.

If you would like to visit the centre, then look out for the sign which is visible on the A90 dualcarriageway at Fordoun. Having a small child in the

car may make it easier to spot. JG

“His writing interweaves beautiful de-scription of the Scottish landscape and the course reality of life in the North East of Scotland in the early 20th Century.”

years, 22 full-time man-agers, 12 domestic cups, 4 league titles and 2 European trophies.

Aberdeen Football Club has recently appointed its

23rd Manager in the club’s illustrious history, Derek McInnes, to try and follow in the footsteps of some of the great names in Scottish Football.

Obviously there can be no debate as to who the great-est manager in the club’s history is, but let’s not dis-cuss why there should be a 30 foot statue of Sir Alex Ferguson erectedin the middle of Union Street. Let us instead take time to look back on some of the other great man-agers to have sat at the famous desk in the bowls of Pittodrie.

Founded in 1903 Aberdeen Football Club appointed its first ever manager. A wood-turner by profession, native Aberdonian Jim-my Phillip managed the Dons from their first ever match to his retirement in 1924.

Phillip was a well know figure by those who fol-lowed football in the city, having refereed for many years before he was appointed to his role at AFC on April 14 th 1903.

Phillip’s achieve-ments in his 24 year reign as The Dons’ boss were not those of cup wins or great victories, but were arguably far more important in laying the groundwork for Aberdeen to go on and become the club it has.

Phillip spent most of his first year with the club lobbying for its entry into the Scottish Football League. Phillip’s constant, and sometimes contro-versial, discussions with the SFA proved fruitful

when in 1905 Aberdeen were admitted into the old Second division after less than two years as a club.

Phillip would then have to face the challenge of guiding the club he had fought so hard for through one of the rockiest times in British sporting history, the First World War.

During this time teams would often be made up of locally stationed soldiers and, in 1917, the club was forced to withdraw from competition due to mas-

sive financial strain.

Philip was in charge of a 13-0 victory over Peter-head in 1923 which stands to this day as the club’s largest ever victory however the first ever Dons boss retired in 1924 with no senior silverware to show for his tenure.

Changing of the GuardPart one in a two part hisory of

Aberdeen Football Club

110

Aberdeen’s first ever trophy winning manager arrived at the club in the winter of 1937 after then boss, Pat Travers, left to manage Clyde. The board of directors received numerous applications but opted to appoint a relatively unknown name to the hot seat, Dave Halliday.

Halliday had enjoyed a colourful career as a player, turning out in Scotland and England for clubs like Arsenal and Manchester City as well as Dundee and St Mirren.

When Travers left the post, he was mid-way through rebuilding a squad after dismantling the famous Black and Gold Dons of the 1930’s. Halliday had to essentially build a squad from scratch and did so by brining in largely unknown and unpop-ular players from the lower leagues of England where he had ended his playing career.

Just as Halliday had formed a strong side, now back to playing in the famous all redshirts, he had to leave his post in 1939 to serve his country in the second Great War. The board of Directors took charge of management during this period.

Halliday returned early in the 1940’s and in 1945 lead his side to Hampden to face themighty Glasgow Rangers in the final of the Scottish League Cup. Heavy underdogs going into the match, Halliday’s men won a thrilling match 3-2 to secure the managers place in the history books as the first Dons gaffer to win a national trophy.

But the great manager wasn’t done there. The fol-lowing season Aberdeen returned toHampden twice in both national cup finals.

They failed to retain the League Cup, losing it to Rangers, but finished the season with a2-1 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup final.

In a 10-year period Aberdeen reached two Scottish Cup Finals but failed to win back the trophy and as the side grew stronger over the years Halliday would cement his reputation as an Aberdeen legend when he would win the greatest prize in ScottishFootball, the League Championship.

Halliday, now a valuable commodity in football, would leave his position to take over Leicester City. He remains to this day as one of only two managers to win the Scottish League Championship.

“Halliday would cement his reputation as an

Aberdeen legend when he would win the greatest

prize in Scottish football; The League Champion-

ship.”

There was however one other manager who came bitterly close to bringing the Champion-ship to Pittodrie.

Eddie Turnbull became the 6th full-time man-ager of the club in 1965 after leaving the top role at Queen’s Park.

Turnbull, like Halliday 27 years before him, had no previous connection to Aberdeen Football Club and within his first few weeks in the job had cleared out most of the first team squad and began building his own.

In his first season Turnbull found mid-table mediocrity in the league but ended the clubs abysmal Scottish cup runs by guiding his side to the semi-finals for the first time in seven years. Aberdeen lost 2-1 to Rangers.

The season after, Turnbull went one better when he guided the Dons to the final, however he could not attend the game due to illness and Aber-deen lost 2-0 to Celtic.

Turnbull had two more seasons with little success beyond what fans have been moreused to in recent years, but the following season Turnbull all but ended Celtic’s five year domi-nance of the league before falling at the last hurdle with the champions proving just that little bit too strong.

After this success Turnbull would leave the Dons to take charge of the club he had spent most of his play-ing career with, Hibs.

Before Alex Ferguson became manager in 1978, Aber-deen would appoint three other managers.

Jimmy Bothrone managed the club between 1971 and 1975 but found little success. He was succeeded by a man who had gone down in folklore of the Scottish National team, Ally McLeod.

Before “Ally’s Tartan Army” went of to Ar-gentina to, in his own words, “Win the World Cup” (Scotland went out at the group stage) McLeod was manager of Aberdeen.

His first season began unpromisingly as he came grimly close to becoming the first Ab-erdeen manager to be relegated from the top division, the Dons avoided the drop by the skin of their teeth.

McLeod would go onto become the first Aberdeen manager in 6 years to win a tro-phy when his side beat Celtic 2-1 in the 1976 league cup final. The Dons played the Scot-tish champions on the field that day and the country began to take notice of Ally McLeod, as became apparent when he was appointed manager of the national team in 1977.

His successor was a well-known legend of the Scot-tish game. Billy McNeil found success and immor-tality as a player when he captained the famous “Lisbon Lions” Celtic side to the European Cup in 1967.

After retiring from playing in 1975 he managed Clyde before becoming Dons manager.

Despite more experienced directors names being in the ring the board went for the leadership and motivational skills of McNeill.

From the get go in his first season McNeil’s side looked like serious title contenders and,despite a 6-1 defeat to Rangers in the League Cup, were on fire. McNeill was also theman to sign one of the most influential players in the clubs history, Gordon Strachan.

This deal is regarded as one of the best in Scottish football history as the pacey midfielder joined the Dons from Dundee as the Dens Park side got player

Jim Shirra and a “moderate cash settlement”.

Aberdeen continued on fine form in the league but ultimately could not take the top position from Rangers as the Ibrox men went on to take the title. Aberdeen had a chance at revenge when the met Rangers in the Scottish cup final but could not claim this prize either, losing out again. A season that promised so much ended with nothing.

McNeill would not get a second chance to win a trophy at Pittodrie, as legendry Celtic manager Jock Stein left Parkhead that summer to manage Leeds United and, to nobody’s surprise, former captain McNeill was appointed manager of the club he had spent his entire playing career with.

This proved a blessing in disguise, as the Dons would replace McNeill with the relatively unknown

Alex Ferguson. MS

A Night at the Ball The Beach Ballroom celebrates the launch of it’s memories book

hampagne, Jazz and Tuxedos are among the first things that hit the senses upon entering the ballroom, then the fine china and grand ban-ners. Moving in, there’s the Beatles and the Who through

the crowd, and some championship dancers fox-trotting their way across the dance floor. Even wrestlers can be seen over in the corner along with a big band act of the 30s – the TommyJames Band.

But this wasn’t a dazzling celebrity event from of days gone by but an occasion to celebrate those

memories of Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom. The launch of the new book “Memories of the BeachBallroom” was taking place. The managers were in tuxedos, pictures of the big acts that played therewere on the walls, such as the Beatles and the Who. Although the jazz music came from a stereo, theevent didn’t fail to recapture some of those memo-ries being celebrated.

As the event proceeded, the Lord Provost did his rounds with the guests who had contributed their“memories” to the book, while the remainder of the party flocked round the displays and the buffet.The exhibits ranged from the essential ballroom dancing history of the establishment to a transport

C

exhibit provided by First Group. There was even a piece on the Ballroom during wartime providedby the Gordon Highlanders museum. The dress of the guests was generally smart-casual, leadingto A:History’s notice of a man in white tie, perhaps the only thing more out of place than a nearbycolleague in jeans. Casual remarks were made from those suited up that they felt “underdressed”.

“What time is it?” the Provost exuberantly put to a guest.“It’s ten to one”.“Oh, only ten minutes left!” he replied.

Soon enough the main part of the event was under-way and George Adam was on the podium. TheProvost related to the audience the importance of the ballroom.

He stated: “Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom has held a special place in the hearts of many people forover 80 years which is clear to see from the many contributions in the book.

“I am sure people of all ages will enjoy reading about people’s memories and looking at photo-graphs of the time they have spent at this iconic venue in the Granite City.”

He continued to mention how many Aberdonians met their husbands and wife’s at the ballroom andrelated the accounts of such people. Apparently, the ballroom originally had the rule that peoplewere not to dance inappropriately, therefore many people were broken up and asked to leave in the40s and 50s for dancing “too closely” when inches apart.

The next man up was Ray Douglas, area manager for the Beach Ballroom, he said:

“Over the years we have often had people come and tell us about their memories of visits to theBeach Ballroom. These stories were always so inter-esting and unique that we decided we would liketo capture as many of them as possible and the best way to do that would be in the form of a book.”

“Opening the book will be a wonderful trip down memory lane for the thousands of people whohave enjoyed the splendour and magic of the Beach Ballroom.”

Eddy and Betty Maitland dancing

Ray explained that the idea to create a book began in 2009 and led to an appeal for the memories ofthose who have enjoyed the venue over the dec-ades. Hundreds replied, some from as far away asCanada and Australia, with their stories and pic-tures.

The result is a 172-page complete social history of Aberdeen’s most-loved venue. The book takes the reader through a journey, compiled by the Beach Ballroom and Aberdeen Central Library Staff, fromthe opening of the venue in the 1920s right up until 2009. A taste of those memories were given at the

book launch event as a projection was shown of theevents of the Ballroom’s past. Each era of images was accompanied with music of that time. Theaudience saw the Tommy James Band and Mr Wellesley Smith, “The greatest specialist in ball-room dancing in the world” from the 30s who judged dancing events. Miss Dorothy Ball, pro-

claimed Queen of the Ball, being crowned by the Marquess of Huntly from the 40s. Then Vicky Lee- the glamorous resident redheaded vocalist of the venue – then Sarah Vaughan, a popular American singer, Leslie Thorpe and his band, and masses of visitors dancing to the sound of the Eric Delaney Band of the 50s. This was followed by images of the various competitive dances of the 60s, including nine-year winners Eddie and Betty Maitland. Then the Beatles and The Who at the ballroom in the 70s, followed by the modern Strictly Come Dancing events of recent days.

Upon completion of this presentation, the lights dimmed and the mysterious Mr White Tie appeared on the dance floor with a lovely young woman in a long purple dress. These were champion dancers of

Scotland and Latin America who performed a slow dance to “I Will Always Love You”, followed

later to something a touch more spritely (and in tighter clothes) to Jackie Wilson’s “Reet Petite”.

After another (this time video) presentation, the conclusion of the formal event was announced.A:History scrambled to catch the tuxedoed manager, Ray Douglas, who was doing rounds with allthe guests. After a few moments, he had gone up-stairs with some invitees. It was, therefore, time tolook at some exhibits.

The Gordon Highlanders exhibition had plenty of information on the Ballroom in wartime. Due to the very high number of men joining the army during the outset of World War II, the traditional army quarters such as the Gordon Barracks and the Bridge of Don Barracks were not large enough to hold all the men. Therefore, following the initial 6-week training, many were sent to the beach Ball-room which acted as a billet during the war. Rough-ly 600 men would have occupied the venue at anygiven time, with straw beds being a luxury afforded to some. During the winter of 1939, the half pipeoutside which continually ran cold water (the normal bathing apparatus) was too cold so the men would take turns to walk to Hanover Street School for showers.

Following the military occupation, the ballroom re-opened in 1946, with the cost of re-condition-ing coming between £6,000 and £7,000 although a substantial part of this was claimed form the War Department.

After reading this, A:History noticed Ray Douglas was back downstairs and approaching.

“Hi, are you the guys? Oh good. Yes! We’d love you to do a feature, anything you want, just let me know. I’ll find you a card.” He returned momentar-ily with a business card pointing out that his first name is “Ray” and soon disappeared into the crowd.

The Ballroom was emptying now, as it had done so many times before by so many different people.The champagne was finished, the lights were on and the bowties were undone. But this time people were leaving with a larger collection of memories than they had before.

“Memories of the Beach Ballroom” costs £14.50 per copy and is available to purchase from the Beach Ballroom, Central Library, Aberdeen Art Gallery and

Aberdeen Maritime. AT

Blood and GraniteStories of Murder and Execution

in Aberdeen

The Murder of Helen Priestly

61 Urquhart Road is the home of a gruesome tale of murder in Aberdeen. It takes place in April, 1934. The old saying that “names will never hurt me” was not true in this case. This story

involves two families that lived in the tenement – the Donalds and the Priestlys, namely eight-year-old Helen Priestly and Mrs Jeannie Donald. It was known that Helen liked to tease Mrs Donald.

In 1934, in this particular area of the city, almost every second corner had a shop. On the 21st of April, little Helen Priestly did what she did every day – went out to fetch her mum a loaf of bread from the nearby baker. Helen was never seen again. As the day went by, Helen’s mother became more and more concerned about her daughter’s wherea-bouts, her husband and neighbours reassured her that Helen was likely playing outside or hiding in

the back shed from fear of getting into trouble for being out too late. However, by nightfall Helen’s mother was frantic and at midnight she knew that something awful had happened. A massive vol-unteer search operation was undertaken, with the largest part of the neighbourhood looking for the young girl. By 2am, Helen’s exhausted father was told to go home to get some sleep and the Priestlys’ neighbour Alexander promised to get up and wake him at 5am to resume the search.

Good as his word, Alexander arrived at the Priest-lys’ close at 5 in the morning and was surprised to find a lumpy jute sack lying against a wall. To his horror, he found Helen’s body inside and screamed. This led to a number of neighbours looking out their doors to see what was wrong and the police arrived shortly after.

In 1934, forensic science

was not well

known or utilised as heavily as it is today. However, the police did know they had to get samples of the bag and samples of the victim to get to the scientists. Al-though the police had cordoned off the area, res-idents could still see the body as it was removed from the sack. One woman was heard to shout One woman was heard to shout “she’s been used!” and sure enough, there were bruises on her body that suggested Helen had been sexually assaulted. The next step for the police was to interview everyone in the neighbourhood. They eventually interviewed Mr and Mrs Donald who said they had been at the theatre the night before. Then the police interviewed the Donalds’ daughter who was also called Jeannie and was a friend of Hel-en Priestly. Jeannie said something very strange to the officers when asked about the previous day. She said that they got a different loaf of bread than usual and that it was “the same kind that Helen got for her mummy”.

This was enough for the police to start focussing their attention on Mr and Mrs Donald.The forensic scientist was Professor (later Sir) Syd-ney Smith who was working at Edinburgh Univer-sity at the time of the case. Professor Smith found two notable things, firstly that Helen had very likely fainted before the murder and he also found bacteria in Helen’s stomach that seemed almost unique to her. The Professor said to the police that if they could

find that bacteria anywhere else, that was where the murder took place.

As the investigation proceeded, the police quickly dismissed Mr Donald but stayed focussed his wife Jeannie. The 1930s was a time of poverty and infla-tion, much like today, so luxuries and presents were a rarity. Not a great time before her death, Helen had been given a piano for her birthday. This had made Mrs Donald envious and hateful of the girl and this was added by Helen teasing her and calling names at her regularly. As this was shown to the police, they became more certain of their suspect’s guilt. Then, following the discovery of bacteria on Mrs Donald’s kitchen floor that matched that in Helen’s stomach, Mrs Donald was arrested.

Meanwhile, pathologists had found that Helen had been strangled to death and the bruises on her body had been made to make it look as if Helen had been raped.

When the case came to trial, it had to be held in Edinburgh due to the massive spread of the story in Aberdeen. 168 witnesses had come forward to testify against Jeannie Donald, such was her reputation in the city. Jeannie Donald pled not guilty but was found guilty and sentenced to only ten years impris-onment. Following this, she was given a new identity and lived until she was 80 in obscurity, never admit-ting her guilt.

The prosecution lawyer of the case had a strong the-ory as to what happened on the day of Helen’s death. Helen was running back from the bakers with a loaf of bread. As she ran, she passed Jennie Donald and shouted names at her. This time, Mrs Donald went in a rage and grabbed Helen hard around the neck. At

this, Helen fainted and Jeannie thought she had killed her. Helen had an enlarged thyroid gland

which had made her prone to fainting easily. Then Jeannie made her first mistake by taking Helen

into her flat. She assessed how to make herself look innocent and decided on bruising Helen to

make it look as if she’d been raped. At the first blow, Helen awoke and vomited. She then screamed. This was when the real murder took place. A frightened Jeannie then strangled Helen to death. She then hid Helen’s body in the sack and carried on her day as usual by ironing her daughter’s dress for going to the theatre that night.

AT

LAST

MAN

HANGING

The story of Henry Burnett, the last man to be hung in Scotland

his is a story of fatal attraction. Tommy and Margaret Guyan were happily married for many years, with one child and shared a flat with Margaret’s mother in Jackson

Terrace. In 1961, they had a second child but it was found that Tommy wasn’t the father. Tommy, being old-fashioned, said he didn’t want divorce, insisting they said “till death do us part.” How apt that would later prove.

Margaret was a tall, brunette, flirtatious woman. Following the revelation of her adultery, she went and got a job at a fish curers where she met a new admirer, Henry Burnett. Henry would talk to Marga-ret about his girlfriends and in one instance spoke of a girl he was taking to the dancing. Margaret is said to have replied: “Don’t worry about her, take me and you can come back to my place and stay all night.” Although the 60s are known for shocking state-ments, the wild and free attitude didn’t reach quite as far north as the still quite Presbyterian Aberdeen. Therefore, for Margaret to make a statement like that would have shocked then delighted Henry. A rela-tionship soon developed and by May 1963, Margaret and her eldest son had moved in with Burnett.Harry Burnett was a young man, soft, with a wild temper and prone to blind rages. His family, having lived with him, knew how to handle him but Marga-ret didn’t know that she was playing with fire. Harry had become possessive, convinced that Margaret would leave him any time she got the chance so he kept her from leaving the house. Margaret had be-come frightened and upon a chance encounter with her estranged husband Tommy, she begged him to take her back.

Tommy agreed, hoping to work things out between them. So, on that day, May 31st 1963, Margaret went back to Henry’s flat on Skene Terrace to collect her son and to tell Henry she was leaving him to go back to her husband. Burnett, upon hearing this cried “Margaret, Margaret, you are not going to leave me!” and slashed at her with a knife before running out of the house. Margaret was shocked but not seriously hurt.

Henry went to his brother Frank’s workplace to tell him what happened, concerned that he had hurt Margaret. Frank told Henry to go to the police but it was too late. Henry had become bent on revenge. He then went to his-sister in law’s home in order to borrow Frank’s two-barrel sewn-off shotgun which his brother used for shooting rabbits. Henry wanted

the key to the gun cabinet but Frank’s wife refused as no one was allowed in it. So Henry broke in and stole the gun, concealing the 2ft long weapon in a coat as he boarded the bus for Jackson Terrace.

Burnett the broke in to the Guyans’ residence, met with shouts from Margaret’s mother. As Henry kicked the door in of the kitchen, he was met with Tommy Guyan, who protested his being there shrtly before Harry unloaded both barrels of the shotgun into Tommy’s face. All this was seen by the children, Margaret and her mother as Henry proceeded to drag Margaret out of the building at gunpoint. A neighbour boy stopped them on their way out, stat-ing he’d call the police, so Henry pointed the gun at him saying if he does, he’ll be next.

Henry then steals a car and drives them towards Ellon. However the police soon catch them and find Henry quite calm and ready to go without fuss. Burnett had a quick trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Margaret famously told the Daily Record “I’m sorry for what has happened but I love Harry”. Many people in Aberdeen were sympathetic to Henry and many who have reviewed his case in more recent times feel that, if it had happened over the last ten years, he would likely have been able to defend his case with an insanity plea.

Margaret famously told the Daily Record “I’m sorry for what has happened but I love

Harry”.

Burnett spent his last night in Craiginches prison, a priest and a minister stayed playing cards with him to keep his mind off the inevitable. The following day, 15 August 1963, he was walked up to the Gallows. As he stood over the trap door, a minister held a crucifix in front on Henry and prayed for him. This was the last thing the 21-year-old saw as he was hanged for the murder. AT

his is a story of fatal attraction. Tommy and Margaret Guyan were happily married for many years, with one child and shared a flat with Margaret’s mother in Jackson Terrace. In 1961, they had a sec-

ond child but it was found that Tommy wasn’t the father. Tommy, being old-fashioned, said he didn’t want divorce, insisting they said “till death do us part.” How apt that would later prove.

Margaret was a tall, brunette, flirtatious woman. Following the revelation of her adultery, she went and got a job at a fish curers where she met a new admirer, Henry Burnett. Henry would talk to Mar-garet about his girlfriends and in one instance spoke of a girl he was taking to the dancing. Mar-garet is said to have replied: “Don’t worry about her, take me and you can come back to my place and stay all night.” Although the 60s are known for shocking statements, the wild and free attitude didn’t reach quite as far north as the still quite Presbyterian Aberdeen. Therefore, for Margaret to make a statement like that would have shocked then delighted Henry. A relationship soon devel-oped and by May 1963, Margaret and her eldest son had moved in with Burnett.Harry Burnett was a young man, soft, with a wild temper and prone to blind rages. His family, having lived with him, knew how to handle him but Marga-ret didn’t know that she was playing with fire. Har-ry had become possessive, convinced that Margaret would leave him any time she got the chance so he kept her from leaving the house. Margaret had be-come frightened and upon a chance encounter with her estranged husband Tommy, she begged him to take her back.

Tommy agreed, hoping to work things out between them. So, on that day, May 31st 1963, Margaret went back to Henry’s flat on Skene Terrace to collect her son and to tell Henry she was leaving him to go back to her husband. Burnett, upon hearing this cried “Margaret, Margaret, you are not going to leave me!” and slashed at her with a knife before running out of the house. Margaret was shocked but not seriously hurt.

Henry went to his brother Frank’s workplace to tell him what happened, concerned that he had hurt Margaret. Frank told Henry to go to the police but it was too late. Henry had become bent on revenge. He then went to his-sister in law’s home in order to

borrow Frank’s two-barrel sewn-off shotgun which his brother used for shooting rabbits. Henry wanted the key to the gun cabinet but Frank’s wife refused as no one was allowed in it. So Henry broke in and stole the gun, concealing the 2ft long weapon in a coat as he boarded the bus for Jackson Terrace.

Burnett the broke in to the Guyans’ residence, met with shouts from Margaret’s mother. As Henry kicked the door in of the kitchen, he was met with Tommy Guyan, who protested his being there shrtly before Harry unloaded both barrels of the shotgun into Tommy’s face. All this was seen by the chil-dren, Margaret and her mother as Henry proceeded to drag Margaret out of the building at gunpoint. A neighbour boy stopped them on their way out, stat-ing he’d call the police, so Henry pointed the gun at him saying if he does, he’ll be next.

Henry then steals a car and drives them towards Ellon. However the police soon catch them and find Henry quite calm and ready to go without fuss. Burnett had a quick trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Margaret famously told the Daily Record “I’m sorry for what has happened but I love Harry”. Many people in Aberdeen were sym-pathetic to Henry and many who have reviewed his case in more recent times feel that, if it had hap-pened over the last ten years, he would likely have been able to defend his case with an insanity plea.

“Margaret famously told the Daily Record “I’m sorry for what has hap-

pened but I love Harry”.

Burnett spent his last night in Craiginches prison, a priest and a minister stayed playing cards with him to keep his mind off the inevitable. The following day, 15 August 1963, he was walked up to the Gal-lows. As he stood over the trap door, a minister held a crucifix in front on Henry and prayed for him. This was the last thing the 21-year-old saw as he

was hanged for the murder. AT

T

John Mallard: Inventor of the MRI Scannerritain’s post war years gave birth to an age of rapid scientific development. New technologies and information gained over the course of the Second World War meant that broad new avenues of research were now open, especially in the realms of Nuclear

Science. When John Mallard, a newly graduated Physicist from University College Nottingham began his research career, he started an incredible journey which would lead to world renown amongst the medical profession. Nowadays, John lives in an impressive Granite house near Rubislaw Den in Aberdeen, a far cry from where he started off in life. The heavy white front door creaks open and he stands stooped but smiling in the lobby:

“John? How are you today?”Still above ground,” he beams.

Seating himself on one of three corner chairs in his immacul

ate blue living room, alongside his wife, he begins: “When I was growing up I lived in a grocer shop in Northampton, my father owned the shop and we lived above it. I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to the local Grammar school.” “Is that where your interest in science came from?” “Yes I suppose it was we had excellent science masters there and one particularly good physics teacher.”

This teacher would be the one who inspired John to pursue a career in physics although he had more interest in other sciences:. “I had a large interest in biology but I did physics because of the teacher at my school.” Leaving school in 1944, John was accepted to University College

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London where he studied physics, graduating with a London degree in 1947. After this he decided to begin research on Magnetic Resonance: “I started my career in Harwell where they were building the world’s first Nuclear Reactor meant for energy use. My work there mostly consisted of measuring the magnetic properties of Urani-um.” “After that I went on to work in the Liverpool Radium Institute, in 1951 I think.” This is where John’s career gained some direction and began to evolve into one of the most important developments for the medi-cal world in the 20th Century. He realised that Magnetic Resonance could be used as a means of detecting abnormalities in the body; much like the X-Ray had been used to detect broken bones before it: “Until the late 1950’s the only way of imaging inside the body was with X-Rays. Now X-Rays were good for creating pictures of bones but not of all the rest of the soft tissue around the body. For example it was very difficult to pick up tumours.” “And Magnetic Resonance Imaging changed all that?” “Precisely. Radioactive isotopes which are used in Magnetic Reso-nance Imaging started to offer the first way of seeing images clearly.” “As a result of my research I built the first imagery scanner by using radioactive isotopes, the Computed Tomography Scanner” John gestures to an article he has presented AH titled “The Contri-bution of Medical Physicists and Doctors in Aberdeen to the Evolu-tion of Modern Medical Imaging.” Aside from having a lengthy title, it provides a pretty condensed account of what John Mallard and his team did. During his time in Aberdeen, John Mallard paved the way for Hos-pitals in the North east to use his research on medical imaging with radioactivity. This would lead to a ‘quest to build the first clinical-ly-useful whole body MRI, ending in its successful development and worldwide use of the MRI technique in the present day. John spent his career in Aberdeen University at the forefront of medical technology and was appointed to the first Chair of Medical Physics in Scotland in 1965. He headed a department that was jointly funded by the University and the NHS. Funding was used to provide all the medical physics services to hospitals in the North East, Orkney and Shetland. Furthermore, his course at the University became the forerunner of Medical Physics courses around the world and has led to the training of Graduate Physicists in medical applications. So after a long and established career, you have to wonder what

inspired a young Physics graduate to apply all his knowledge to the medical world: “One of my fondest memories of growing up in a Grocer Shop was when I was 12 years old and my father allowed me to use his bacon slicing machine. I use to slice up a chunk of meat really thin and then put it back together again. Metaphorically speaking I have been slicing up patients all my life.” Could it be that a fairly normal childhood experience kindled the insight for an entire life of research in John Mallard? I can think of another John who had a revolutionary idea through a normal experience. He certainly wasn’t the first man to have an apple fall on his head. John Mallard retired from the University of Aberdeen in 1992: “You had such a long career there, you must have been sad to leave?”“Not really, I was sick of all the politics.” He gives his wife a knowing look and she interjects:: “We had a nightmare of a Principle in the University at that time. He made it very difficult to receive funding.” Judging by the success of all John’s research and the medical applica-tions of Magnetic Resonance Imaging by radiology departments across the world, it seems like he got enough funding to achieve a whole lot. It’s a shame that his final years at the University were clouded by financial worries. “Moving on then, what advice would you give to young researchers working in your field today?” “I would say, do what you think is right and to hell with what anybody else says! I was fortunate in that all of my research was well funded, it’s important to get the right backing when you’re carrying out research too.” On the way out John poses for his photo to be taken, assuming the same position that he has held for the duration of the interview: “Say Cheese.” His wife gets up to move out of shot and pauses to spur him on: “Think about sex and cheese John.” “They do go well together,” he says smiling.

We all laugh and John gets up to show me to the door. He pauses with it ajar to shake my hand and says:“Keep up the good work.” I have a feeling he’s heard that phrase many a time in his life and he obviously paid close attention to it. The good work of John Mallard

and all his co-researchers has led to a much more significant understanding of cancer and faster diagnosis of diseases. He has done Aber-deen and the entire world a tremendous service.

JG

he year 1964 was an unusual one for resi-dents of Aber-deen. Typhoid fever; a disease unfamiliar in

the city since the Victorian ages, had the city in its grip. Panic ensued as worried residents fled to their GPs if they noticed the slightest feeling of fever.

The first patients were brought to the City Hospital one Friday, near the end of May. The number of patients arriving quickly increased until it hit

a peak of around thirty a day. Overall, around five hundred patients were treated, none of which died. Hospitals were hectic as doctors raced to find out what was causing this bout of illness. Luckily, the reported case was mild, however this did not

stop public panic within and out with the city.

The origins of the outbreak were at

first unknown but it was soon discov-ered many of the infected patients had all visited one supermarket and eaten cold meats. The theory that the infec-tion came from the supermarket was confirmed as many of the ill patients came from the same households.

The outbreak was eventually traced back to a single can of corned beef from William Low’s supermarket. The can in question had come from Argen-tina, a country where typhoid fever was still a common disease. The bacteria which was causing the food poisoning was from a strain most commonly found in South America and Spain therefore, this provided enough evidence as to where the bacteria had come from.

The story of how the bacteria entered the can was a completely more com-plex story. It was reported that the machinery at the factory where the cans were made has broken down. Dur-ing the canning process, there must a change in pressure or temperature which will help to seal the contents of the can. The can is essentially a vacu-um. Now, during 1964, the supplier in question decided to place the cans in a

“The can came from Fray Bentos, one of the largest industrial complexes in South America.”

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“It was a massive tribute to the nurses that no one became infected from a secondary source.”

nearby river so help with this process. This river happened to have tonnes of faeces and urine emptied into it every year and this would provide an ideal home for bacteria to grow.A:History spoke with Professor Eliza-beth Russell, who was a junior member of the hospital team at the time. She explained that most cans provide are air tight which provides protection to the contents from the surrounding environment. However, the can which happened to arrive at William Low’s had a tiny hole in the metal. This little hole, in turn, allowed bacteria to enter the can. The name of the beef supplier was not revealed to the public at the time. She told me that the can came from Fray Bentos, one of the largest in-dustrial complexes in South America.

It was soon discovered that anything which came into contact with the corned beef would be infected. This ranged from other meats which were cut with the same tools, to salads or fruit prepared on the same boards. This also explained the range of those infected, confirmed that not everyone had consumed the corned beef.

Professor Russell said: “The organisa-

tion of the outbreak was amazing. The hospital were really hectic and it was a massive tribute to the nurses that no one became infect-ed from a second-ary source.” Every patient that arrived suffered from the strain which has spread from the actual tin of corned beef and this made the disease much easier to treat.

As patient numbers increased, wards were closed to provide space new arrivals. The outbreak was steadily getting worse and no one could predict when it would end. A specialist from Dundee, Ian McQueen arrived to help run the outbreak.

McQueen took an active role in health education and media coverage. He went to the media preaching one very simple message: wash your hands. This media was relayed through newspa-pers and radio. Grampian Television had only been operating for a short while and only in evenings.

The city found itself shunned from the rest of the UK and was often described as a belligerent city. At one stage, there were rumours that residents of Aberdeen would have to get passports to leave the city.

This soon changed as the outbreak took control of the city and they start broadcasting all day. Posters were also made which embraced the essence of the message. To this day, it is reported that Aberdoni-ans still wash their hands more than the average Scot. McQueen’s message certainly seemed to do the trick.

He came under much scrutiny from locals as they thought he should be doing more to run the out-break. Professor Russell said: “We really need Ian on the forefront of preventing the spread. His role

was crucial, we were managing

perfectly fine.” Citizens of Aberdeen were worried about the outbreak. The city found it shunned from the rest of the UK and was often described as a bel-ligerent city. At one stage, there were rumours that residents of Aberdeen would have to get passports to leave the city.

Aberdonians on holiday outside the city found themselves ostracised while those travelling north would not pass further than Stonehaven. Some even turned around when they realised how close Stonehaven was to Aberdeen. External examiners

even marked papers from Aberdeen with gloved hands. One positive that came from the typhoid outbreak was the sense of community it developed through-out the city. Prof. Russell reminisced about how she would have to chase young boys away from the win-dows of their girlfriend’s ward. She explained the hospital also provided single two bed private rooms for husbands and wives.

Families were often housed together and many patients became friends. Some still maintain their friendship; they were bonded by a most rare out-break for Britain in the 20th century. Hospitals also often held socials where patients could interact and many provided entertainment.

Even though Aberdeen was treated with a hostile attitude out with the city, moral within was unhin-dered as citizens united together to get through the outbreak. Unfortunately, William Low’s supermar-ket had to close as customers had just lost respect. The irony is that the supermarket would have been the cleanest in the city considering they were forced to disinfect their whole store.

The Medico-Chirurgical Society at Aberdeen Royal

Infirmary holds many memories of the outbreak, including newspaper clippings and witness ac-counts. The Society was established in 1789 and holds a collection of artefacts which are invaluable resources; detailing the history of the society and the development of medicine over the centuries. A History was invited to explore their archives.

The Aberdonian typhoid outbreak prompted peo-ple to look more closely to where their food was coming from. This issue is echoed through to today with the horsemeat scandal. Many projects have stemmed from the typhoid outbreak. This was an important event to help raise awareness of personal

hygiene and knowledge of foods. DOD

A young boy with typhoid looks out of his window at visitors

Statistics540 cases and suspect cases went to hospital. 309 cases came from households within Aberdeen City and 33 from surrounding districts.On 20th June, Dr. McQueen an-nounced that the outbreak was under control.

From E Gospel o Matta tae e Revelation o Jock.

A History speaks to the man who’s translated the New Testa-ment into Doric.

he Bible has been translated into many languages through the ages from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It now has versions in over 2,500 languages, including English, Afrikaans, Hindi and various

indigenous languages of Native Americans, Russians and Hawaiians. Now the New Testament is available in Doric. A History talked to Gordon Hay, the transla-tor of the Doric New Testament. “Oh I would have hanged from a long rope if I’d done it in the 16th Century,” Gordon explained about Bible translation. 500 years ago, it was condemned to have versions of the Bible other than those in Latin. Those in English were often burned. However this has not been the case with the Doric New Testament which has been available since November last year. With a degree in Law and Arts, rendering the Bible isn’t the most obvious hobby for a man like Gordon. He was a Senior Partner at a law firm before retiring last month. In six years, he rendered the New Testa-

The Acks o the Apostles, Chaptir 14, verse 8

“Noo, at Lystra, there was a cripple mannie vrang amo e feet fae e day he wis born, nivver haein waalkit. He wis hearknin tae Paul as he spak, an Paul, leukin him straicht in e ee an seein he hid e faith tae be made aa better, says till him wi a lood vice: “Stan straicht up on yer feet!” He jumpit up an set oot waalkin. An fan e crood saa fit Paul hid deen, they roart oot o them in their ain tongue, “E gods hiv come dooon till hiz in e form o a mannie.”

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ment into Doric without any theologi- cal training and no knowledge of the Greek or Hebrew languages. So why do it? The Buchan Heritage Society holds a biennial Doric Service in different churches of the Buchan area. The late Reverend Charles Binnie used to provide a good deal of the material needed for these services. “Following Reverend Binnie’s death, I was asked by the society to translate two passages into Doric for the service at Longside church,” Gordon explained. “Afterwards, I continued to amuse myself by trans-lating other passages in the Bible into Doric and it just escalated from there.” After four years of translating and two years of re-vision, it is perhaps clear why Gordon didn’t trans-late the Old Testament too. “I’m, working on it!” he jokes. “It will likely take me another 15 years, the Old Testament is three times the size of the New.” Gordon’s interest in the Doric language has been prominent through his entire life. His learning in-troduction to the dialect was through the poem “It

wisna his wyte” by Charles Murray which he leaned for a school concert at the age of eight. Gordon is now Chairman of the Charles Murray Memorial Trust and has even gone so far as to write locally produced plays in Doric.

Of course, there were a number of challenges in translating the ancient text into Doric. These were not only those of understanding the scripture but also in translating the testament into the very var-ied dialect which Gordon reckons “has a variant for every 30 miles you drive in the North East.” So, the Doric you hear in Banff will not be the same as what you hear in Alford.

Therefore, what’s written in the book is largely that of the Banffshire/West Aberdeenshire dialect you can perceive in Gordon’s native Invekeithny and Pe-terhead, where he worked for over 30 years. Gordon admits that he did have some trouble understand-ing some pieces of scripture and employed the help of Reverend G Melvyn Wood, a native Banffshire Doric to steer him on the right path.

“He was critical but kind, some of the Doric vernac-ular can be quite coarse so he steered me on the right path. It was frustrating when he had revisions because he was almost always right!” “The Doric dialect”, Gordon remarked “is actually quite negative, the best you tend to get in terms of compliments is ‘nae bad’. There aren’t many Doric translations for positive remarks.” This caused some trouble with common words that repeat themselves in the Bible. Examples of these include “son” which translates to “sin” and “crop” which translates to “crap”. Doric, Gordon admits, is not easy to read as it is not natural to the read-

ers’ eyes. Therefore, it is the note at the start of the book recommends for the reader to read it out loud in a quiet room and the language will come to life. So, when Gordon presents a Doric passage, A Histo-

ry simply couldn’t resist trying to make the lan-guage come to life. It failed miserably. Gordon then proceeded to display how it is done. “Fae Paul , Aposlte o Christ Jesus bi God’s will, an fae wir brither Timothy, tae aa God’s fowk at Clos-sae, wir faithful fowkies in Christ. Grace an peace be wi ye, fae God wir Fadder an e lord Jesus Christ.” Rendering the Bible isn’t a new concept. It’s been done thousands of times and has been the source of some bad deeds in history. The 16th Century was a particularly bad time for it. When the Bible was translated from Latin into English in C.1525 the first edition of the English bible was published.

Many of these were burned, along with their trans-lators, by the church.

The church saw the possibility of seeing God’s Word

Despite the complications of reading a dialect that has been largely unwritten, the Doric version has helped to simplify some of the passages in the Bible.

available to the common man in the English lan-guage as disastrous. No longer would the church be able to sell indulgences, like the forgiveness of sins or the release of loved ones from the church-man-ufactured “Purgatory”. So, translating 500 years ago was a dangerous business. Not like today, where renditions like the Doric New Testament have been well received. Despite the complications of reading a dialect that has been largely unwritten, the Doric version has helped to simplify some of the passages in the Bible. Some of Gordon’s readers have said that things like the letters of Paul have become easier to read for some people as they realise that they are just letters to a friend. Since the version’s publication, Gordon has seen some changes in his daily life. He’s been speaking at lectures, been to book signings and has even attended a dinner with Prince Charles to read the

book. Gordon recalls an interview he did last year with the Press and Journal. “There was a journalist who approached me asking ‘is there a need for this?’ The question surprised me because I hadn’t thought of it in that way as all this just started from my amusing hobby. But now I real-ise that there is a need for it. The English language developed as greatly as it did due to there being a Bible translated into it, it has been argued that Dor-ic and Gaelic would have developed further if there had been Bibles of them hundreds of years ago.” Gordon then stated that he wasn’t hoping to greatly develop the Doric dialect with his book but rather to celebrate the dialect he has grown up with.

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E Gospel O Jock

Chaptir 6, Verse 35A’m e bried o life. Yer forebeers ett manna i the roch cuntra, bit they’re aa deid. Iss is e bried att comes doon fae hivven, gin ye ett it ye’ll live for ivver. E bried att A’ll gie ye is ma flesh, an A’ll

gie it for e life o e warl.

Chaptir 8, Verse 12A’m e licht o e warl. E chiel fa

follas me winna walk i the mirk, bit will hae e licht o life.

Chaptir 14, Verse 6A’m e wye, e trowth an e life. Nae man comes till e Fadder

save throw me. Gin ye kent me, ye wid ken ma Fadder tee. An fae noo on, ye div ken him an

hiv seen him.